Chapter 333



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The resistance in Hayden’s eyes made Benjamin uncomfortable. Clenching his fists, he decided to confess everything to him after hesitating for a while.

“Hayden, if you still don’t believe me. Come with me, I’ll take you somewhere.”

“What place?”

“You’ll know when you’re there. Everything I’ve done to get close to the Beckhams is there.”

The road was muddy after the snow and Hayden drove very cautiously. She crossed into a community near the University of Public Safety and entered a room on the fourth floor following Benjamin as they got off.

There were no decorations in the room, just a bed and a desk with numerous books. Marked books and files filled a bookshelf.

“I lived here when I was a private detective, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

Hayden glanced around the room. The room was dusty, it must have been deserted for a long time.

“There, on the bookshelf, is everything I know about the Beckhams, I put it in chronological order. My mother never told me anything about the Beckhams, so I did some research.”

Hayden paused for a moment and suspiciously reached over to the bookshelf and pulled out a notebook.

The date was three years ago, when Benjamin had just entered college.

It was a report clipped from a newspaper on the front endpaper.

“[Franklin Hawkins, CEO of ST Group resigns, Joseph Beckham, the Beckham’s sole heir takes over].”

Below were some records of interviews Joseph had done, along with Benjamin’s notes, which included his own analysis of Joseph.

His analysis, at first, was limited to vocabulary such as ‘cold,’ ‘shrewd,’ ‘has a way with business.’ But later, words like ‘not so cold’, ‘he’s kind of annoying’ began to emerge.

All of this was the self-talk of a teenager, one he shared with no one. For so many years, he had focused on his stepbrother.

Hayden was deeply moved as he closed the book.

He returned it to its place and stood studying Benjamin for a good while, then asked.

“Why did you think to do this in the first place? There has to be a reason. You never met, what prompted you to do research on him?”.

“Because of my mother.” He answered instantly, “When I was a kid, she used to cry while holding a picture, screaming Joseph’s name in her sleep. At first I was confused, then I learned that she had another son named Joseph, and that she was kicked out by him.”

People see things differently.

Hayden could understand the grudge Benjamin held against his brother. But at the same time, he had to put himself in Joseph’s shoes and think about the damage Rebekah caused him.

“So you want Joseph to take your mother back?”

“That’s right.”

“That won’t be easy.” She said directly, “There’s something you may not know and that’s the reason you think that way, but…”.

“My mother didn’t cheat on me.”

Benjamin abruptly interrupted Hayden.

Hayden saw the conviction in his eyes and paused.

“I know what you’re talking about, but my mom couldn’t have been in a relationship with another man.”

Hayden frowned. “But Benjamin, your mom said your dad and Joseph’s dad aren’t the same…”.

It was hard to tell Benjamin that. But he knew from Benjamin’s stubborn look that he couldn’t easily persuade him. And God knew what he might do if she failed to convince him not to try to make peace for Joseph and his mother.

To get closer to Joseph, he chose to be a private detectorist and seek information about the Beckhams. Hayden could imagine how dangerous that could have been.

“Hayden, do you think my father is another man, too?” Benjamin’s expression changed. Slowly and his hands clenched into fists, “But my mom has always told me my dad’s name is Henry Beckham.”

Hayden was surprised at his response.

Henry Beckham was the only son of Harrison Beckham, Joseph’s father. He died in a car accident when Joseph was thirteen, the same accident was also the reason Joseph kicked Rebekah out. So mother and son had not seen each other again for the next two decades. But why would Benjamin say that his father was Henry?

Doubts and suspicions invaded Hayden for the moment.

What had happened that year remained a mystery, and Rebekah obviously didn’t feel like talking about it. But Hayden had a strange feeling that the truth was much more complicated than it seemed.

“If what you’re saying is true, why did your mother leave?”

Speaking of his mother’s departure, Benjamin automatically frowned.

“I’m still looking into that. But it definitely wasn’t because she cheated on him, that’s a lie!”.

As much as Hayden wanted to believe Benjamin, he had to side with Joseph.

He pondered for a while and then looked at Benjamin.

“Benjamin, your mother never told what happened that year, maybe she had her own difficulties.”

Benjamin paused, “Why do you say that?”.

“Proving you’re a Beckham is easy, but your mom chose to take you away from the Beckhams and give you another last name, have you ever thought about why she did that?”.

At this point, he believed Benjamin wouldn’t lie to him, and his intuition told him that what Rebekah said was true. Based on all the information he knew, he had a terrible guess. It was such a terrible guess that he didn’t dare tell Benjamin.

Benjamin didn’t know what Hayden was implying, he looked at her in confusion.

“Let’s leave it here for today. What you intend can’t be done rashly. Anyway, don’t let Joseph find out about your relationship with your mother. At this point, it’s the best thing you can do.”

All I could do now was to try to talk some sense into Benjamin and hope that I could find a solution before things got worse.

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